All content is SFW and does not contain any images that could be considered NSFW.
Beggars Can't Be Choosers
What happens when you disallow legal pornography to exist? You cultivate a platform for illegal pornography. As I summarized in Saturday's post, porn enjoys a hard ban in South Korea and there are few and increasingly difficult ways to access representations of sex in the country. As a result, similar to the production patterns of drugs, servants, child laborers, and other banned services and substances, we see a correlative rise in illegal activity.
So it's no surprise that illegal porn thrives in country that scrubs anything public of sexuality. In a country that is so technologically advanced, Koreans have found some unique ways and unexpected subject matter to focus on to fill the void.
Ever feel like someone is watching you?
Remember those old spy movies like 007 where they fit pea-sized cameras into all sorts of objects? Perhaps those were fantasies when Sean Connery was on the screen but it isn't the case any more. There has been a marked rise in spy-camera use to capture sexual acts and exposed/vulnerable bodies.
Source:DH Resource
The common joke is that these can fit in the eye of a Teddy bear. In reality, they can be hidden anywhere and capture a very high amount of definition. They can be embedded in clothing, cellphones, usb drives, phone charges, and so much more.
These objects in themselves are sneaky in implication but it's their use in Korea that is really nefarious. With the outlaw of pornography, individuals and underground organizations use this tech to capture exposed bodies and women who hadn't consented to be recorded during sex. An ongoing stream of news reports reveals these being found in motel rooms and even public toilets. Recordings are put up online and make up for a very lucrative business.
Authorities searching for hidden cameras in public toilets. Source: Pepl News
Public warnings of upskirt photos. Source: The Grand Narrative
Korea Expose' did an excellent survey of the current endemic that you can find here.
The Bad, The Bad, and The Really Friggen Ugly
Think that was bad? It's only the beginning of an entire offshoot industry that motivates surreptitious and very intrusive actions. And since there's no way public companies like Youtube would host such content, we see a rise in websites like Sora.net that sustain and reward all kinds of despicable activity.
The specific and scandalous case of Sora.net is behind us now but many other elusive sites and popping up in its wake. They're platforms to upload sex-related content, essentially an Instagram of shady dealings. And they don't just reward willing content. They inadvertently promote submissions by all age groups of all subject matter without guideline or upheld practices.
Imagine you were an adolescent in Korea who knew how to make a quick buck by uploading some naked girls. You don't have many options, since you spend most of your day in school or tutoring institutions, so you turn towards the most conveniently accessible females. Sisters and mothers. Hidden bathroom recordings and and secretive snapshots. These are all making their way online.
Source: Youtube
Every kind of transgression including upskirt recordings, naked siblings, drugged young girls, date-rape sessions, advertisements of underaged prostitution, and so many more are cataloged on sites such as this. You can see an interesting discussion on Reddit here. I'll refrain from describing the more horrid types of activities found on here but you begin to get the idea of what is happening behind closed doors and an immovable firewall.
There is in fact a porn industry in South Korea, but one that is absolutely outside the scrutiny of the government or part of any public and moral engagement. It is an industry allowed to be driven by society's worst actors and it's having a terrible impact on the general population, distorting the lives of both the victims and the perpetrators.
This is all from me today. In the next installment, I'll look at how the lack of a private option to access of sexual content is driving a public domain and industry instead.
The This is What Happens when you Make Porn Illegal series is look at South Korea's attitude around the sex industry and some of the direct consequences of having a full pornography ban.
